4. Newspaper headline reading: (in Arabic) "70 lawmakers place procedure to form tribunal in the hands of the United Nations: avoiding Chapter 7 is still possible"

April 3, 2007

5. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and son of the slain leader, Rafik Hariri, delivering the memorandum to Geir Pederson, the UN representative in Lebanon ++MUTE++

6. Lebanese members of parliament at meeting ++MUTE++

7. Wide of meeting ++MUTE++

April 4, 2007

8. Exterior of Prime Minister's office building

9. Close-up of Lebanese flag

10. Youth and Sport Minister Ahmad Fatfat

11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ahmad Fatfat, Minister of Youth and Sports:

"We proceeded to the United Nations after the failure of all internal constitutional attempts due to obstacles placed along the way by certain elements (in government). That is why we look to the United Nations to implement the resolutions."

" This is dangerous move for all of Lebanon and it belittles the importance of the International tribunal. Instead of the tribunal being one that serves all the Lebanese people, one they all want and support, it is now a tribunal negotiated and imposed by a few Members of Parliament. Which makes it a political tribunal."

17. Image of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader, on calendar cover

STORYLINE:

Parliament's anti-Syrian majority has called on the UN to impose an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri after the government failed to win opposition support for its creation drawing condemnation from the Hezbollah-led opposition.

The anti-Syrian coalition's call late on Tuesday on the world body to take "alternative measures" to approve the tribunal amounted to an invitation to the UN Security Council to independently establish it.

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and son of the slain leader, presented a memorandum to Geir Pederson, the UN representative in Lebanon, during a meeting late on Tuesday, demanding UN action to establish the tribunal in accordance with a draft agreement signed between the Lebanese government and the United Nations last year.

The memorandum, addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, calls on the UN chief "to take all alternative measures under the UN Charter which ensure the establishment of the international tribunal which has been approved by the Security Council in order to achieve justice, strengthen national peace and protect world justice and peace," according to a statement issued by Hariri's office.

The memorandum accused pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key opposition figure, of obstructing efforts to set up the tribunal, claiming Lahoud repeatedly refused to sign the tribunal draft agreement because he considered the government unconstitutional after the resignation of six ministers.

Ahmad Fatfat, the Lebanese Minister of Youth and Sports, said the decision to go through the United Nations was borne out of frustration.

" We proceeded to the United Nations after the failure of all internal constitutional attempts due to obstacles placed along the way by certain elements (in government). That is why we look to the United Nations to implement the resolutions," said Fatfat.

The move prompted a warning from Hezbollah that such international intervention threatens Lebanon's security and stability.

On Tuesday, Amal leader and Hezbollah ally, Speaker Nabih Berri locked out pro-government lawmakers from the chamber, refusing to call the legislature into session.

It was the third attempt in as many weeks by lawmakers from the anti-Syrian majority to try and force Berri to call a session.

But Hezbollah and its Pro-Syrian allies in parliament have declined, seeking instead to negotiate limits to the tribunal's mandate.

Nawar Al-Sahili, Hezbollah Member of Parliament, called the decision to go through the UN a

" dangerous move for all of Lebanon."

"Instead of the tribunal being one that serves all the Lebanese people, one they all want and support, it is now a tribunal negotiated and imposed by a few Members of Parliament. Which makes it a political tribunal," said Al-Sahili.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Haj Hassan said in a telephone interview with LBC television, warned that the establishment of a tribunal by the UN with out the consent of the Lebanese parliament is considered international foreign intervention in the internal affairs which threatens the security and stability of Lebanon.

"We have not achieved any progress and speaker of the house, Berri, is travelling. I do not know who is trying to spread fear and panic for what is going to happen on Monday. Nothing is going to happen and we have not reached any agreement."

11. Michel Aoun heading to the podium

12. SOUNDBITE(Arabic), Michel Aoun, Head of Free National movement:

"The session was adjourned without assigning a new date for another round of talks."

13. Aoun leaving

STORYLINE:

Rival Lebanese politicians failed to reach agreement when they returned to the negotiating table on Saturday, a day after the government received a draft document setting up an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Politicians emerged from the meeting, with some saying the talks failed to achieve a breakthrough.

In a sign of worsening tensions, Christian leader Michel Aoun said the talks had failed to produce an agreement and that no date for another round of talks was set.

Christian politician Samir Geagea acknowledged the talks had failed to reach any agreement but suggested the talks would resume at a later stage.

He said the meeting was stopped partly because House Speaker Nabih Berri was scheduled to leave to travel to Iran.

"We have not achieved any progress and Speaker of the House, Berri is travelling. I do not know who is trying to spread fear and panic for what is going to happen on Monday. Nothing is going to happen and we have not reached any agreement."

The handover of the draft document setting up an international tribunal to the Lebanese government on Friday figured high on the agenda of Saturday's meeting, the fourth this week aimed at solving differences between Lebanon's bickering politicians.

The stakes of the talks are high: the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla group threatened protests that could bring down the government if its share in Cabinet portfolios is not increased.

Lebanese media reports have suggested the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority led by the late Hariri's son, Saad, would agree to give Hezbollah and its allies a larger share of the Cabinet and effective veto power over key decisions if the group and allied pro-Syrian factions endorse the draft for the tribunal.

But Hariri's allies denied that such a deal was on the table.

The anti-Syrian majority has accepted the principle of forming a national unity government but refuses to give Hezbollah and its allies the one-third of Cabinet posts that is effectively equivalent to veto power because Cabinet decisions require approval by two-thirds of the ministers.

They also want to discuss the fate of President Emile Lahoud, a staunch pro-Syrian who has rejected pro-government demands to step down.

"We discussed the international tribunal and other internal affairs. We agreed on the continuation of national dialogue, a dialogue of all the problems in Lebanon, because dialogue is the only way to save the national consensus and unity."

"Russia will take all necessary action to help and support in finding a solution to the problem."

11. Convoy leaving

12. Presidential palace

13. Sultanov at meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

14. Mid of Lahoud

15. Mid of Sultanov

16. Exterior, Prime Minister's office building

17. Lebanese flag

18. Various of meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora

19. Exterior of Ein El-Tineh Palace

20. Various of meeting with parliament speaker, Nabih Berri

STORYLINE:

Envoys from Russia and the UN were involved in Beirut on Tuesday in what may be a last-ditch attempt to win approval from Lebanon's opposing camps for an international tribunal into the assassination of Lebanon's prime minister, Rafik Hariri, a subject that's divided Lebanese opinion and which threatens the country's stability.

The parliament has put off approving a draft agreement with the United Nations, paralyzed by a political crisis between the government, which wants a multi-national tribunal to prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination, and the Hezbollah-led opposition, which wants more discussion first.

The Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the parliamentary majority have asked the United Nations to impose the Hariri tribunal and bypass the Lebanese legislature but opposition leaders have warned that such intervention could spell more trouble for the country.

Clashes over the issue have already caused nine deaths.

Opposition campaigners have been camping outside Saniora's office since December, 2006, paralyzing large parts of the capital's commercial district to demand his resignation but Saniora has refused to step down.

Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexander Sultanov arrived for talks in Beirut with various Lebanese officials and the former Lebanese foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh.

Sultanov said that Russia was eager to help find a compromise, not impose a solution, stressing that the Lebanese need to find consensus through dialogue.

"We discussed the international tribunal," he said. "We agreed upon the continuation of the national dialogue, a dialogue of all the problems in Lebanon, because dialogue is the only way to save the national consensus and unity."

Fawzi Salloukh, who resigned as Lebanon's foreign minister, said that Russia would do what is necessary to help and support in finding a solution to the problem.

Russia, with a veto on UN Security Council resolutions, has enjoyed good relations with Lebanon and Syria, which has been widely accused of involvement in the assassination.

Sultanov also met with Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He is then expected to travel to Syria, which remains an important player despite the withdrawal of its army from Lebanon in the wake of Hariri's assassination.

Along with Sultanov, the top UN legal chief Nicolas Michel was flying in later Tuesday to Beirut to help overcome the impasse.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is scheduled to visit Syria next week, after a trip to Lebanon in March.

The anti-Syrian majority in Parliament blames Damascus for killing Hariri, an accusation Syria vehemently denies, and say the Syrians were using their Lebanese allies to undermine the formation of the tribunal.

"There is a real crisis in the country that should be resolved. It should be solved through political dialogue about all topics, leaving aside the issue of the international tribunal because there has been a consensus about this tribunal, and consequently we should be all working for the establishment of this tribunal. We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country."

10. Wide shot of courtyard

11. Exterior pan of protesters close to Saniora's offices

12. Mid of soldiers seated on army vehicles

13. Mid of Saniora speaking to journalists

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"I have a strong belief in the Lebanese. They have tried all attempts to solve problems in the past through violent ways, through non-peaceful means and it proved to be a failure, so we can't resort to violent ways. It doesn't solve the problem. In Lebanon it does not solve the problem. Don't let anybody waste his time, it will not lead to anything. We have to agree among each other on all the issues."

15. Protesters outside Saniora's offices

STORYLINE

The Lebanese Minister of Information said on Saturday there was a real crisis in the country that should be resolved through political dialogue, at the same time the government should be working towards the establishment of an international tribunal to try the alleged killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

"We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country," Ghazi Aridi added.

Lebanon's Cabinet, headed by anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, sent the president a draft accord on Monday to establish a tribunal to try the alleged killers of Rafik Hariri.

But President Emile Lahoud, who is pro-Syrian, is expected to decline to endorse the agreement, which would set up a UN-backed court that would sit outside Lebanon.

The tribunal has become a weapon in the battle between on the one hand Lebanon's Hezbollah-aligned factions, supported by Syria, and on the other hand anti-Syrian parties, over demands by Hezbollah and its allies for a third of the Cabinet's seats.

That would give them veto powers.

Aridi's comments came as thousands of Hezbollah supporters camped out in tents in the capital, as the Shiite Muslim guerrilla group and its allies kept up the pressure on the US-backed Saniora government to resign.

Hezbollah officials said their campaign, which has disrupted life in the capital's commercial district, will not stop until their demand for a national unity government is fulfilled.

Barbed wire and armoured vehicles separated the demonstrators from government headquarters where Prime Minister Saniora and some of his ministers have hunkered down.

But the government has shown no sign of backing down in a confrontation that has the potential to turn violent and tear apart the country.

"They have tried all attempts to solve problems in the past through violent ways," Saniora said on Saturday. "Don't let anybody waste his time, it will not lead to anything. We have to agree among each other on all the issues."

"(The cabinet) approved the creation of an international tribunal between Lebanon and the United Nations and authorised the Justice Minister to sign this agreement with the United Nations and also to send this approval to the Lebanese Parliament for authorisation.''

14. Cameras

STORYLINE

The Lebanese government on Saturday approved an international tribunal for suspects in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, despite warnings of mass protests by its opponent Hezbollah.

Last-ditch attempts to reach a compromise between the government and the pro-Syrian camp, led by Hezbollah, appeared to fail as the cabinet moved forward with its meeting for a UN created court.

The tribunal is a key bone of contention in the power struggle between allies and opponents of Syria in Lebanon.

Anti-Syrian forces - mainly Christian and Sunni Muslim - dominate the government, but are facing a campaign by the mainly Shiite pro-Syrian camp to bring the government down.

The political crisis became potentially explosive this week with the assassination of an anti-Syrian politician, raising worries of more violence that could tear apart the country's fragile sectarian seams.

The anti-Syrian bloc brought out some 800,000 people for a mass rally at the funeral of the politician, Pierre Gemayel, on Thursday.

Hezbollah has shown it can bring out similar numbers for its protests - and if it goes ahead with its threatened demonstrations, many fear it could start a spiral of street action.

Earlier on Saturday, two key anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah and a Syria supporter, in an apparent attempt to find a compromise.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora offered to put off the contentious Cabinet vote for several days if six pro-Hezbollah ministers who quit the government earlier this month returned.

Hezbollah demands that the government be changed to give it and its allies more power, or else it says it will launch mass protests to topple Saniora.

But the reconciliation bid appeared to have failed, and the Cabinet meeting approved a UN draft for the tribunal.

In the eyes of Hezbollah, the approval of the tribunal amounts to a rejection of its demands for a greater representation in the Cabinet.

The Shiite militant group and Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, have denounced the current government as unconstitutional, because the constitution underlines that the government must represent all of Lebanon's main communities.

"(The cabinet) approved the creation of an international tribunal between Lebanon and the United Nations and authorised the Justice Minister to sign this agreement with the United Nations and also to send this approval to the Lebanese Parliament for authorisation,'' Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after the vote.

Aridi's statement went on to say that Prime Minister Saniora insisted the approval of the tribunal was not meant as a provocation against Hezbollah and its allies.

For opponents of Syria, the court is a major priority, and they hope it will uncover the truth behind the February 2005 assassination of Hariri in a massive bomb blast that killed 22 others, which they accuse Damascus of orchestrating. Syria has denied any role in the killing.

The court, which will sit outside Lebanon and have a majority of non-Lebanese judges, is to try four Lebanese generals - top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud including his Presidential Guard commander, who have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in

Hariri's murder.

The UN investigation into Hariri's death has also implicated Brigadier General Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. But Shawkat is not in custody.

Hariri's death was the first in a string of attacks that killed five other prominent anti-Syrian figures - with Gemayel the most recent, in a bold daytime shooting on Tuesday.

Many Lebanese blame Syria in all the killings, which Damascus denies.

Since Gemayel's assassination, some ministers in Saniora's Cabinet have moved into the heavily guarded prime minister's building in downtown Beirut, fearing more slayings.

"The International Tribunal, which will try those cowardly criminal killers, will also try those who sabotage the presidential elections."

20. Various of locked up shops

STORYLINE

Lebanese leaders pledged on Thursday to press ahead with a divisive election for president, to be held in Parliament in coming days, despite the car bombing assassination of an anti-Syrian lawmaker.

Wednesday's bomb killed Antoine Ghanem, an anti-Syria lawmaker, and six others in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut and threatened to derail efforts to bring the country's rival parties together to agree on a head of state ahead of time, before voting is set to begin next week.

Investigators were at the sight examining the remains of the blast.

At least 67 were wounded in the explosion, which severely damaged buildings and set cars ablaze during rush hour on a busy street in the Sin el-Fil neighbourhood.

Ghanem, 64, a member of the right-wing Christian Phalange party, had returned from refuge abroad only two days earlier. He was the eighth anti-Syria figure and fourth governing coalition lawmaker to be assassinated in less than three years.

On Thursday Lebanese newspapers were focused entirely on the assassination.

Samer Mrad a Beirut resident said he wants to know who is behind the attack.

" We want to see and to know that hands behind such acts and who has the interest. This is only affecting the poor and miserable people," he said.

Coalition members blamed Syria for the death, but Damascus denied involvement, as it has for the previous seven assassinations, including the 2005 bombing death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora asked the United Nations secretary-general in a letter to add the Ghanem assassination to an international probe into Hariri's slaying and other political crimes in Lebanon.

On Wednesday Hariri's son, who now heads the main anti-Syrian alliance in the Lebanese parliament, called the perpetrators of the attack "cowardly criminal killers".

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon," Saad Hariri said.

Many people fear the divisions over the presidency could lead to creation of two rival governments, a grim threat to repeat the last two years of Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war when army units loyal to competing administrations battled it out.

President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Syria, is due to step down from the presidency by November 23 and government supporters see the vote as the opportunity to put one of their own in the post.

But Hezbollah and its allies have vowed to block any candidate they do not approve and they can do so by boycotting the ballots, preventing the needed two-thirds quorum of 85 votes.

If no candidate is agreed on by the time Lahoud steps down, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his cabinet would automatically take on executive powers.

If that happens, opposition supporters have said Lahoud might appoint a second government, a step many fear would break up the country.

Schools, universities and many businesses in Christian areas of Beirut, plus in the Mount Lebanon region north of the capital, closed on Thursday in a day of mourning and to observe a strike called by the Phalange Party.

"The International Tribunal, which will try those cowardly criminal killers, will also try those who sabotage the presidential elections."

8. Wide view from above blast site

STORYLINE

A powerful bomb killed an anti-Syria lawmaker and six others in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut on Wednesday, threatening to derail an effort by an already deeply divided parliament to elect Lebanon's next president in voting to begin next week.

Antoine Ghanem, a 64-year-old member of the Christian Phalange party who had returned from refuge abroad only two days earlier, was the eighth

anti-Syria figure and fourth lawmaker from the governing coalition to be assassinated in less than three years.

Coalition members blamed Syria, but Damascus denied involvement, as it has for the previous seven assassinations, including the 2005 bombing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a killing that ignited huge protests that forced Syria to withdraw its troops after a three-decade occupation.

Hariri's son, who now heads the main anti-Syrian alliance in the Lebanese parliament, called the perpetrators of Wednesday's attack "cowardly criminal killers".

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon," Saad Hariri said.

Many people fear the divisions over the presidency could lead to creation of two rival governments, a grim threat to repeat the last two years of

Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war when army units loyal to competing administrations battled it out.

President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Syria, is due to step down from the presidency by November 23 and government supporters see the vote as the opportunity to put one of their own in the post.

But Hezbollah and its allies have vowed to block any candidate they do not approve and they can do so by boycotting the ballots, preventing the needed two-thirds quorum of 85 votes.

If no candidate is agreed on by the time Lahoud steps down, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his cabinet would automatically take on executive powers.

If that happens, opposition supporters have said Lahoud might appoint a second government, a step many fear would break up the country.

"The election of a new president should take place on time and in accordance with constitutional procedures. In this endeavour it is imperative that the parliament convenes in order to elect the new president. This president must be committed to TAIF reconciliation accord, the constitution and international legitimacy."

6. Cutaway of cameras

7. Ban leaving new conference

++NIGHT SHOTS++

8. Pan of Lebanese Parliament Speaker's residence, barriers and security at the entrance

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged Lebanon's deeply divided politicians to elect a new president with the "broadest possible acceptance" by the public, and to do it on schedule, as he tried to help break the deadlock over the crucial vote.

Ban launched the latest attempt by international officials to prod the country's feuding factions to agree on a candidate for the top post and avoid a dangerous power vacuum.

His visit comes a week before parliament is to convene for another try to elect a president.

Parliament is supposed to pick a new president before the term of current President Emile Lahoud ends on November 24.

But the Western-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition have been unable to agree on a candidate, sparking Lebanon's most serious political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

He met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri who is one of the opposition figures.

The pro-Syrian opposition has been preventing the anti-Syrian majority from pushing through a candidate by refusing to attend parliament sessions until a compromise is reached.

The coalition is eager to put one of its own in place to replace Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus.

Three parliament attempts to hold a vote have failed since September, and the legislature is to try again on November 21.

"The election of the new president should take place on time and in accordance with constitutional procedures," Ban said. "In this endeavor, it

is imperative that the parliament convenes in order to elect a new president."

After arriving in Beirut on Thursday, Ban met first with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is aligned with the opposition, and with legislator

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority.

He later met with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, whose government has been locked for the past year in a fierce power struggle with the opposition led by the Hezbollah group, which is backed by Syria and Iran.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Saniora and Ban discussed the presidential

election, Israel's reconnaissance flights over Lebanon and the need to speed up an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Failure to elect the next president could result in a power vacuum and possibly, in the formation of two rival administrations.

Ban was also to meet Friday with Hezbollah officials and Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the head of the influential Maronite Catholic Church.

Under Lebanon's political system, the president must be Maronite, the country's largest Christian sect.

The church fears a power vacuum could threaten the Maronites' hold on the post.

"There is a real crisis in the country that should be resolved. It should be solved through political dialogue about all topics, leaving aside the issue of the international tribunal because there has been a consensus about this tribunal, and consequently we should be all working for the establishment of this tribunal. We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country."

10. Wide shot of courtyard

STORYLINE

The Lebanese Minister of Information said on Saturday there was a real crisis in the country that should be resolved through political dialogue, at the same time the government should be working towards the establishment of an international tribunal to try the alleged killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

"We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country," Ghazi Aridi added.

Lebanon's Cabinet headed by anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fuad Saniora sent the president a draft accord on Monday to establish a tribunal to try the alleged killers of Rafik Hariri.

But President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian, is expected to decline to endorse the agreement, which would set up a UN backed court that would sit outside Lebanon.

The tribunal has become a weapon in the battle between Lebanon's Hezbollah-aligned factions, supported by Syria and Lebanon, and anti-Syrian parties over demands by Hezbollah and its allies for a third of the Cabinet's seats.

That would give them veto powers.

Aridi's comments came as thousands of Hezbollah supporters were camping out in tents as the Shiite Muslim guerrilla group and its allies kept up the pressure on the US-backed government to resign.

Hezbollah officials said their campaign, which has disrupted life in the capital's commercial district, will not stop until their demand for a national unity government is fulfilled.

But the government showed no sign of backing down in a confrontation that has the potential to turn violent and tear apart the country.

4. Bullet holes in door on other side of car, zoom in to bloody interior of car

5. Soldiers making their way to scene

November 21, 2006

6. Wide of news conference room

7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Fuad Saniora, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"To your lovely parents, to your wife and children, to all who love you and to all free men, I pledge to you that your blood will not go in vain."

8. Wide of conference ending

9. Cutaway close-up of Lebanese flag

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Emile Lahoud, Lebanese President:

"This speech was meant for the Lebanese, meant to congratulate them for independence day. But we were all Lebanese surprised by this criminal act that killed Pierre Gemayel at this time. Who ever committed this crime is following crimes that started with (the assassination of the) late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and because of this, I tell you, that at this particular time we have to be united."

++Night Shots++

11. Crowd gathered outside hospital

12. Walid Jumblatt, a prominent Druse politician in the anti-Syrian coalition, making his way through the crowd

"We won't let them divide us in Lebanon and the international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for political assassinations in Lebanon will come soon.''

November 21, 2006

++Night Shots++

14. Wide exterior of St. Joseph's hospital

November 21, 2006

++Night Shots++

15. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amin Gemayel, father of Pierre Gemayel and former Lebanese President:

"Today Pierre died as a martyr for his cause. All I ask from the people who loved Pierre is to protect the cause, Pierre killed for the cause of Lebanon, for the cause of freedom.''

16. Amin Gemayel being consoled by Walid Jumblatt

November 21, 2006

17. Wide of people gathered inside St. Jospeh's hospital

18. Man with poster of Pierre Gemayel, shouting

19. Men chanting

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Gemayel supporter, Vox Pop:

"We will not forget him after some months. We must work together in a very progressive way and in a peaceful way also."

November 21, 2006

++Night Shots++

21. Various of angry protesters gathering and scuffles with security personnel

22. Crowd of supporters chanting with raised fists

23. Tilt up of supporters demonstrating with poster of Pierre Gemayel

November 21, 2006

++Night Shots++

24. Fire burning on the street, with soldiers monitoring situation

25. Pan across protesters gathered near the fire

26. Crying women holding photographs of Pierre Gemayel

FILE - Recent

27. Pierre Gemayel arriving in car

28. Various of Pierre Gemayel with father Amin, a former president

FILE - 1982

29. Various of Bashir Gemayel (uncle of slain minister) in military uniform on left reviewing militia with his father (in suit), Pierre Gemayel (grandfather and namesake of slain minister)

30. Various of funeral of Bashir Gemayel

November 21, 2006

31. Pull out to wide of fires in street

STORYLINE

Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian politician and scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family, was gunned down Tuesday in an assassination that heightened tensions amid a showdown between opponents and allies of Syria that threatens to topple the US-backed government.

Gemayel, the industry minister, was the fifth anti-Syrian figure to be killed in the past two years and the first member of the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to be slain.

Saniora went on national television to call for unity and warned of "sedition" against Lebanon.

"I pledge to you that your blood will not go in vain," Saniora said, eulogising Gemayel.

Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud called for citizens to be united in this tragic time, a sentiment that was echoed by Walid Jumblatt, a prominent Druse politician in the anti-Syrian coalition.

"We won't let them divide us in Lebanon and the international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for political assassinations in Lebanon will come soon," Jumblatt said as he offered condolences to Amin Gemayel, father of the slain minister.

Amin Gemayel, a former Lebanese president, told reporters that his son had "died as a martyr".

"All I ask from the people who loved Pierre is to protect the cause, Pierre killed for the cause of Lebanon, for the cause of freedom,'' he told reporters.

The killing has sparked condemnation across the world and from crowds of supporters in Beirut.

Emotional crowds gathered in the streets, with some angry protesters scuffling with security personnel.

There were fires in the streets as many supporters pledged to keep Gemayel's memory alive.

"We will not forget him after some months. We must work together in a very progressive way and in a peaceful way also," said one supporter.

Gemayel's fatal shooting will certainly heighten the political tension in Lebanon, where the leading Muslim Shiite party Hezbollah has threatened to topple the government if it does not get a bigger say in Cabinet decision making.

Witnesses said Gemayel was shot in his car in Jdeideh, a Christian neighbourhood, his constituency on the northern edge of Beirut.

They said a car rammed Gemayel's car from behind and then an assailant stepped out and shot him at point blank range.

Gemayel was rushed to a nearby hospital seriously wounded, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) and Voice of Lebanon, the Phalange Party's radio station, reported.

The party radio later said he was dead, as did the National News Agency.

Gemayel was a member of the Phalange party and supporter of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, which is locked in a power struggle with pro-Syrian factions led by Hezbollah.

He was first elected to parliament in 2005 and was believed to be the youngest legislator in the legislature, where anti-Syrian groups dominate.

The Gemayels have been a political dynasty in Lebanon. The name is famous, and also infamous in some quarters for being a driving force behind the right wing Phalange Party - that fielded the largest Christian militia during the 1975-90 civil war between Christians and Muslims.

The slain minister of industry was the son of former President Amin Gemayel and nephew of Bashir Gemayel, a former president assassinated after the Israeli invasion in 1982 for his tacit collaboration with the Jewish state.

That assassination led to the Christian militia massacre of Palestinians in Sabra and Chatila in September 1982.

Pierre Gemayel's grandfather and namesake founded the Phalange Party in 1936 after a visit to Nazi Germany.

Gemayel is the fifth anti-Syrian figure to be assassinated in the past two years in Lebanon.

Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in February 2005.

The journalist and activist Samir Kassir and former Communist Party leader George Hawi were killed in separate car bombings in June last year.

And lawmaker and newspaper manager Gibran Tueni was killed in a car bombing in December.

6. Various of meeting between Lavrov and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora

7. Saniora speaking

8. Various of Lavrov listening

9. Wide of news conference

10. Cutaway of reporters

11. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister:

"All of UN resolution 1701 should be implemented. The sea and air blockade should be lifted over Lebanon and the Lebanese army should be deployed in the south along with the UNIFIL troops and of course the two Israeli detainees should be freed."

12. Cutaway of cameras

13. Lavrov leaving news conference

14. Exterior shot with arrival of United Nations (UN) Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs Nicholas Michel

15. Various of meeting between Michel and Lebanese Justice Minister Charles Rizk

STORYLINE:

As part of the continuing diplomatic efforts to consolidate the ceasefire between Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces, the Russian Foreign Minister arrived in Beirut on Thursday to meet Lebanese officials.

Sergey Lavrov said after talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora that each part of UN resolution 1701 must be implemented, referring to the resolution that ended 34 days of fighting between the two sides on August 14 (2006).

"The sea and air blockade should be lifted over Lebanon and the Lebanese army should be deployed in the south along with the UNIFIL troops and of course the two Israeli detainees should be freed," he said.

Lavrov also held talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

Afterwards he said there must a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East and an international conference would help achieve this.

Lavrov's visit comes after Israel announced that it would lift an air and sea blockade on the country by Thursday evening.

Israel had come under international pressure to lift its embargo, which had threatened to derail efforts to implement the UN resolution.

The embargo, which business leaders have said cost the country about 50 (m) million US dollars per day, was also hampering massive rebuilding efforts.

The lifting of the embargo marked a major victory for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and it showed that with UN mediation, some of the outstanding disagreements might be resolved.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs also arrived in the country late on Wednesday to advance efforts to formulate an international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Nicolas Michel said he was in Lebanon to meet top Lebanese judicial and political officials at the request of Annan.

He said he hoped to be able to make progress in agreeing a legal basis for the establishment of a tribunal.

On Thursday he presented a final UN draft on the tribunal to Lebanese Justice Minister Charles Rizk.

"We are calling upon the Lebanese government to respect the decision that was taken on December 12, 2005, in the presence of the Lebanese president, that calls for the formation of an international tribunal. We call on the government to approve the framework of the agreement with the United Nations and the basic law for the international tribunal."

"We ask the 14th of Mach supporters to stay in their positions and we announce to the Lebanese that we will keep on defending their freedom, future and their democratic organisations."

9. Leaders applauding

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's political crisis took a turn for the worse on Sunday when the president said the Cabinet was no longer legitimate after the resignation of five Shiite Muslim ministers, including two representing Hezbollah.

President Emile Lahoud's position is a blow to his political rival, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, but does not carry legal weight because the Lebanese president is not empowered to dissolve the government.

Lahoud sent a letter to Saniora's office, saying that the 24-member Cabinet was no longer constitutional after all five Shiite Muslim ministers submitted their resignations Saturday.

He based his position on Article Five of the constitution that states "all sects should be justly represented in the Cabinet."

Lahoud's opponents in the parliamentary majority called on the government to meet anyway to approve an international tribunal in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.

The parliamentary majority which is backed by the United States and is opposed to Syria has accused Hezbollah and Amal, the main pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian Shiite groups, of doing Damascus's and Tehran's bidding and seeking to undermine the formation of the international tribunal.

Saad Hariri, leader of the parliamentary majority, met on Sunday with the factions making up the majority coalition, and directly accused Syria and Iran of seeking to scuttle the formation of the international tribunal.

Hariri called upon the Lebanese government to "respect the decision that was taken on December 12, 2005, in the presence of the Lebanese president, that calls for the formation of an international tribunal".

The tribunal is to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of his father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri

The late Hariri's assassination was blamed by his supporters on Syria.

The resignations of the five ministers, including two representing Hezbollah, left the Shiites, the country's largest single sect, out of the government.

It followed a stalemate in talks for a national unity government.

The resignations strips the government of major players.

While the 24-member government can still muster a two-thirds quorum to meet and take decisions, approval of the international tribunal without the presence of the Shiites could throw in doubt the legitimacy over such a decision in Lebanon's complex sectarian balance of political power.

5. Various of members of parliament (MPs) entering parliament building

6. Various of meeting inside parliament

7. Various of Walid Jumblatt, senior Druse leader at the meeting

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Musbah Al-Ahdab, Pro-government Lebanese MP:

"The parliament has been totally paralysed and I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again in order to avoid all the tension that we are seeing in the streets and mostly that the situation has become very tense inside of the country and even regionally. So it is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

9. Wide of camera operators

10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ali Bazzi, Anti-government Lebanese MP:

"There is dialogue and meetings going on between the speaker of the house Nabih Berri and Sheikh Saad Hariri (head of the majority legislators). We consider this atmosphere of exaggeration and escalation to be a stab for this dialogue and the meetings which are going on. It seems that they (majority legislators) have deprived the government of its legitimacy, constitutionality and credibility and now they are trying to deprive the parliament of its legitimacy."

11. Lebanese security forces

STORYLINE:

Majority legislators gathered in the Lebanese Parliament building in Beirut on Tuesday, to urge the Lebanese speaker of the house, Nabih Berri, to open the first session of parliament for the year.

The pro-government anti-Syrian camp wants Parliament to convene so that the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could be ratified.

The Hezbollah-led front has demanded modifications to the proposal for the international court.

On Tuesday, key negotiations were ongoing between Berri and Saad Hariri, the head of the majority legislators.

Saad Hariri is a Sunni Muslim and his community backs Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's pro-Western government.

Berri is a Shiite Muslim, and his party Amal and its Hezbollah ally draw their support from the country's Shiite community.

The Christian community has lent more support to the anti-government faction than the pro-government.

Pro-government legislators launched a scathing attack on Berri, dealing a blow to negotiations between the two sides.

Musbah Al-Ahdab, a pro-government Member of Parliament (MP) said the Lebanese parliament had "been totally paralysed."

"I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again," he said. "It is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

Anti-government MPs however said Tuesday's gathering in parliament would undermine dialogue between Berri and Hariri.

"We consider this atmosphere of exaggeration and escalation to be a stab for this dialogue and the meetings which are going on," MP Ali Bazzi said.

"It seems that they (majority legislators) have deprived the government of its legitimacy, constitutionality and credibility and now they are trying to deprive the parliament of its legitimacy," he added.

The opposition and Lebanon's pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud, considers Saniora's government to be unconstitutional after five Shiite ministers and a pro-Hezbollah Christian minister resigned in November.

5. Various of members of parliament (MPs) entering parliament building

6. Various of meeting inside parliament

7. Various of Walid Jumblatt, senior Druse leader at the meeting

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Musbah Al-Ahdab, Pro-government Lebanese MP:

"The parliament has been totally paralysed and I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again in order to avoid all the tension that we are seeing in the streets and mostly that the situation has become very tense inside of the country and even regionally. So it is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

9. Wide of camera operators

10. Exterior of Ein El-Tineh palace

11. Nabih Berri heading to the news conference

12. Cutaway of reporters

13. Close of note taking

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nabih Berri, Lebanese Speaker of the House:

"In post Ta'ef Lebanon there is no authority without a council of ministers. The authority is also for the whole council of ministers. The authority is for the whole parliament. Who said that you can deal with the issue in such a way? Therefore the parliament will not meet with this diminished (in number) government, only when it is fully restored (in terms of numbers) in one way or another. But this does not mean that there (inaudible) should be no sessions for the parliament. This is not a threat."

15. Cutaway cameramen

16. Reporters writing

17. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nabih Berri, Lebanese Speaker of the House:

"As long as their aim is to terminate the dialogue ... my answer is: 'to continue the dialogue and extend hands until we save Lebanon."

18. Wide of Berri leaving conference

STORYLINE:

Pro-government lawmakers and their Hezbollah rivals on Tuesday dampened hopes that recent negotiations between the two camps in Lebanon would lead to an end to the country's four month long political crisis.

Several rounds of talks this month between Saad Hariri, head of the pro-government parliament majority, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri from

opposition ranks aligned with Hezbollah, defused some of the tension permeating Lebanon and revived hopes of a reconciliation.

But tensions escalated anew Tuesday, with 45 pro-government legislators gathering in the parliament to protest Berri's refusal to convene a session

on the crisis.

Musbah Al-Ahdab, a pro-government Member of Parliament (MP) said the Lebanese parliament had "been totally paralysed."

"I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again," he said. "It is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

Berri has said he would not convene the parliament before opposition demands for a national unity government are met.

He has also said that even though the constitution stipulates the parliament convene for the spring session on the first Tuesday after March 15, this was not mandatory.

Walid Jumblatt, a Druse lawmaker and key government supporter, accused Berri of "hijacking" the parliament upon orders from Iran and Syria - the

main Hezbollah backers.

Dialogue, said Jumblatt, can only be beneficial in parliament.

Berri lashed back at a news conference later on Tuesday, accusing the parliamentary majority of blocking efforts for a settlement to the crisis.

He said that the parliament would only meet with the government when it is fully restored.

" The parliament will not meet with this diminished (in number) government only when it is fully restored (in terms of numbers) in one way or another. But this does not mean that there (inaudible) should be no sessions for the parliament. This is not a threat," Berri said.

Berri also criticised Tuesday's protest in parliament which he said was held mostly by legislators belonging to Hariri's parliamentary bloc who aimed to" terminate the dialogue."

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"The future of Lebanon is not something that is negotiable against other interests the U.S. may have in in the area, this won't happen."

13. Cutaway to close up of hands

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"Perhaps some outside of Lebanon are concerned about the tribunal because they may be worried that one day they may be held accountable and responsible. Of course, that is normal in any process of justice."

15. Cutaway flag

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"We do not understand what is the purpose of the Hezbollah party having weapons. Precisely what is it they intend to use these weapons for? A conclusion that many have is that they want to be able to intimidate their way into politics. That is the wrong basis for political dialogue and result."

17. U.S. seal on wall

18. Welch heading to meet General Michele Aoun

19. Welch shaking hands with Aoun

20. Various of meeting with Aoun

STORYLINE:

A senior U.S. official pledged on Wednesday that the United States will not use Lebanon as a bargaining tool - an attempt to allay fears that Washington's recent talks with Syria and Iran could weaken American resolve here.

David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said he expects the U.N. Security Council will establish an international tribunal in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

He dismissed fears that creating the court, which is at the core of the political crisis here, without Lebanon's parliamentary approval could lead to violence despite Hezbollah's rejection of such a course.

There have been concerns that recent American contacts with Syria and Iran over Iraq could result in a softening of U.S. support for the Lebanese government, which is facing an incessant campaign by the opposition led by Hezbollah, a Syria and Iran ally, to topple it.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Welch said the United States would not bargain over Lebanon.

"The future of Lebanon is not something that is negotiable against other interests the U.S. may have in the area, this won't happen," said Welsh, in an interview at the heavily fortified U.S.

Embassy compound in Beirut.

Welch's two-day visit to Lebanon comes amid a political impasse over the Hariri tribunal.

Commenting on the tribunal, Welch said: "Perhaps some outside of Lebanon are concerned about the tribunal because they may be worried that one day they may be held accountable and responsible. Of course, that is normal in any process of justice."

In addition to meeting the prime minister, Welch met with others including some opposition leaders - except Hezbollah.

He did not meet with President Emile Lahoud, a staunch Syria ally.

Welch did meet General Michele Aoun, a Christian leader and the main ally for Hezbollah, and the two discussed presidential elections and the political situation in Lebanon.

"Precisely what is it they intend to use these weapons for? A conclusion that many have is that they want to be able to intimidate their way into politics. That is the wrong basis for political dialogue and result," he said.

Hezbollah has said the real goal of American policy in Lebanon is to disarm the Shiite Muslim militant group, whose guerrillas fought Israeli forces in last year's summer war and lobbed thousands of rockets into northern Israel.

A U.N. resolution also calls for disarming militias, and Welch said disarming Hezbollah was a matter for the Lebanese to solve.

''We (the Lebanese government) are asking the Security Council to for an international tribunal which will meet in or outside Lebanon and to investigate in the terrorist crime that killed the prime minister Rafik Hariri and the Member of parliament Basel Fleihan and their companions.''

8. Cameraman

9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon Information minister:

''The Lebanese government is asking the (UN) Security Council to extend the mandate of the International Investigation Committee according to the resolution 1595 or to form an independent investigation committee to help the Lebanese authorities in the latest crimes.''

10. Aridi with Journalists

11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Fneish, Water and Electric Power Minister and Minister for Hezbollah:

"We left the session to declare the suspension of our membership in the government. We are waiting for our political leadership that we represent, to take the decision if we will stay or not in the government.''

12. Exterior of the An-Nahar newspaper offices

13. Lebanese internal security forces

14. Tilt up from machine gun to internal security forces soldier

15. Wide of protesters holding Lebanese flag

16. Various of Ghassan Tueni (father of Gibran) arriving at the An-Nahar building

17. Candles with Lebanese flag on ground

18. Young woman sitting on the ground near candles

19. Gibran Tueni poster

20. Man lighting candle

21. Pan from sign reading ''the truth'' to Hariri's grave

22. People visiting Hariri's grave

23. Hariri poster

24. Grave

25. Ghattas Khouri walking with MP Walid Eido

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ghattas Khouri, MP from Hariri's bloc:

''I think Mr. Mehlis has enough evidence to do what he thinks is right and we support the Mehlis report and the investigations.''

27.Various of Hariri's MP bloc meeting

STORYLINE:

Five pro-Syrian Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim ministers have suspended their participation in the Lebanese cabinet, after the assassination of Lebanese lawmaker and journalist Gibran Tueni on Monday.

Syrian allies Hezbollah and Amal are opposed to the cabinet's call for an international tribunal on the Hariri killing and its plan to ask the U.N. to investigate the death of Tueni and other recent killings.

The ministers said it amounted to international intervention.

The cabinet session was held to discuss the latest developments following the assassination of Gibran Tueni.

Also on the agenda was Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's request for international intervention amid calls from anti-Syrian groups for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, a staunch pro-Syrian and the last major holdover of the Syrian era.

There have been demands from the anti-Syrian faction in Lebanon that the U.N. probe of Hariri's assassination be broadened to include the death of Tueni and others.

As news of Tueni's death spread, supporters shouted insults at Syria and men and women wept in the street and outside the offices of the An-Nahar newspaper.

Tueni had played a major role in the wave of protests after Hariri's killing that lead Syria to finally withdraw in April under international pressure.

Ghassan Tueni, Gibran's father, saluted the crowds outside the An-Nahar newspaper offices as he was accompanied with his brother-in-law the telecommunication minister Marwan Hamadeh.

The report by chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis, who had already implicated Syria in the killing, said new evidence had only reinforced investigators' belief that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence likely knew about the Hariri killing before it happened.

The report was welcomed by the former member of parliament Ghattas Khouri.

''I think Mr. Mehlis has enough evidence to do what he thinks is right and we support Mehlis report and the investigations,' Khouri said.

The new report accused Syria of trying to obstruct the probe by demanding that it revise earlier findings after a crucial witness recanted his testimony.

After Mehlis delivered his earlier report, the U.N. Security Council warned Syria that it would face further action, possibly including sanctions, if it didn't cooperate fully.

While Syria has denied involvement in both killings, the United States, France and Tueni's Lebanese allies said the murder would not distract them from pressuring Syria to cooperate with the United Nations investigation.

Hariri's parliamentary bloc also met in Beirut to discuss both the assassination of Gibran Tueni and Mehlis report.

10. Wide interior pan of Saniora, Henrietta Fore, US Department of State Under Secretary, and delegation sitting for photo op

11. Mid of Henrietta Fore seated on couch

12. Mid of Saniora sitting for photo op

13. Wide of delegates

14. Mid of Saniora and Fore

15. Mid of Fore approaching microphone to speak

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Henrietta Fore, US Department of State Undersecretary for Management:

"(we) affirmed our long and sustained commitment to Lebanon."

17. Various of newspaper stand in Beirut showing pictures of Pierre Gemayel, and tanks in streets

18. Various of newspaper headline reads: (Arabic) "No new initiative or meeting and all factions in confrontation.''

19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Vox Pop:

"We hope for Arab countries and the Arab League to intervene try to get people together in order to avoid civil war like the one we had.''

20. Wide of protestors

21. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Vox Pop:

"We are here to show support and loyalty and to tell the world that we Lebanese Christians will stay and not leave Lebanon no matter what happen."

22. Wide of Beirut city

STORYLINE

Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Beirut on Tuesday, demanding the truth over the assassination of the Maronite Christian Industry minister, Pierre Gemayel.

The gathering, held at the site where Gemayel was killed, marked a week long period since the minister's death.

Gemayel's wife and mother joined the protestors.

Gemayel's assassination has inflamed an already volatile situation in Lebanon- one clearly visible in Beirut on Tuesday as troops moved to secure posts around Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's office as he met with a senior US official from Washington.

Henrietta Fore, US Department of State Undersecretary for Management, told news reporters after the meeting, that Washington had "affirmed" its "long and sustained commitment to Lebanon," in the face of Hezbollah-led opposition moves to topple it.

The meeting between US and Lebanon comes a day after Saniora's cabinet sent a draft accord to Lebanon's President, Emile Lahoud, seeking to create a tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - a move seen to further enhance the power struggle between the pro- and anti-Syrian forces.

The pro-Syrian Lahoud, who considers the Cabinet "unconstitutional" after the resignation of six ministers, is expected to decline to endorse the agreement.

The accord would set up the UN backed court in a location outside Lebanon.

For opponents of Syria, the court is a major priority, one they hope will uncover the truth behind the February 2005 assassination of Hariri which they accuse Damascus of orchestrating.

Syria denies the claim.

The tribunal has also become the latest weapon in the battle between the Hezbollah-aligned factions and the anti-Syrian parties over the demand by Hezbollah for a third of the Cabinet's seats, which would give Hezbollah and its supporters veto power over key decisions, including the UN document setting up the tribunal.

Hezbollah is threatening to call mass demonstrations unless it and its allies obtain a veto-wielding share of the Cabinet -a demand that Saniora and the anti-Syrian parties have rejected.

Gemayel's death heightened fears the country may return to the sectarian violence of the 1975-90 civil war.

"I had a very important meeting with the Lebanese President and we had an excellent exchange and our relations are well."

7. Wide of Lebanese Parliament

STORYLINE:

The Saudi and Iranian Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign dignitaries in Beirut on Sunday, there to see Lebanon's parliament elect army commander General Michel Suleiman as the country's president in a long-delayed vote.

Representatives from both sides of the Middle East's Sunni-Shiite divide came: the foreign ministers of Syria and Iran, which support Hezbollah, and Saudi Arabia, a strong backer of the government.

"I had a very important meeting with the Lebanese President and we had an excellent exchange and our relations are well," Iranian Foreign Minister, Manochehr Mottaki, told reporters after the meetings.

Suleiman was greeted by a standing ovation from lawmakers and visiting dignitaries, as he arrived to be sworn in as the country's president.

Celebratory gunfire reverberated across the capital as news of Suleiman's election was announced, and hundreds broke out in cheers and dancing in the main square as they watched the vote on a giant screen.

The Hezbollah-led opposition and Western-backed government agreed last week to elect Suleiman as part of their deal to end an 18-month political crisis.

The presidential vote had been postponed 19 times since November when the last president, Emile Lahoud, left office.

Suleiman, a compromise candidate, ran unopposed.

He won 118 votes of the 127 living members of the legislature, according to parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

There were six blank ballots.

Two legislators voted for one-time presidential hopefuls and one was in the name "Rafik Hariri and the martyred legislators" - a reference to the slain former prime minister and five other lawmakers killed in bombings in the last three years.

After the vote, the new president was sworn in.

In his first speech, Suleiman had words to comfort both the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed government.

Suleiman called for a close relationship with neighbouring Syria, a major state supporter of Hezbollah which dominated Lebanon for almost three decades.

But he also backed the international tribunal to try killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a position aligned with the government's.

The Arab-mediated agreement reached on Wednesday in Qatar ended a standoff that had paralyzed Lebanon's government before boiling over into some of the worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

It left at least 67 dead and 200 wounded.

Though the deal was a major victory for Hezbollah, most Lebanese appeared happy that the shadow of war had been lifted, at least for now.

Suleiman's election is expected to add to political stability - he has pledged to strengthen "reconciliation and understanding" among rival factions.

"The assassination obviously left a negative impact on Lebanese politics and in return will have definitely an impact on the economic condition of Lebanon. Of course Lebanon coming out of a difficult war and we have a lot of heavy burden of debts when we are going towards Paris 3 to get funding and I think this will have an impact on the funding of the Lebanese government."

"We are here today to assert that we are going to continue till the end by having an international court."

17. Soldier standing with gun

18. Wide of Martyrs' square

STORYLINE

Business leaders hit Lebanon with a strike on Friday to demand that leaders find a resolution to the country's political crisis, fearing that it could spiral into violence after the slaying of a Christian leader.

With tension running high a day after a massive demonstration outside the funeral of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, factories, banks and financial

institutions closed on orders from business community leaders.

Though many small shops remained open Friday, many schools kept their doors closed and traffic was thinner than normal on Beirut's usually bustling streets.

The two-day strike "was to raise the voice against this crime," a statement from the business leaders said.

It called on government and its opponents to break the political deadlock and urged the Cabinet and Parliament to "take national decisions ... engage in dialogue and stop making threats of street protests."

The strike reflected fears that Lebanon's political crisis could throw the country into turmoil.

"The assassination obviously left negative impact on Lebanese politics and in return will have definitely on the economic condition of Lebanon," said one economist AP Television spoke to.

Lebanon is sharply divided between anti-Syrian Christians and Sunni Muslims, who dominate the parliament and government, and pro-Syrian Shiite Muslims, who are led by the powerful Hezbollah guerrilla group and are demanding more power.

On Thursday, an estimated 800-thousand people, flooded into downtown Beirut for Gemayel's funeral and vented their anger against Syria, which many blame in the assassination.

They vowed their support for the US-backed government and vowed to oust Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud.

But Hezbollah and its allies have threatened their own campaign of street protests to bring down the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora unless it is changed to give them more power.

Further stoking the tension was Saniora's call for a Cabinet session on Saturday to approve a protocol sent by the United Nations to set up an

international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri; a highly divisive issue because Syrian officials have been implicated in the murder.

"We are here today to assert that we are going to continue till the end by having an international court," said one demonstrator AP Television spoke to at a demonstration in martyr square on Friday.

5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amr Moussa, secretary General of the Arab League, "Progress has been made at some levels in the package and there are some levels that need further effort and this will need us to come back again for further consultation"

6. Cutaway reporters

7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amr Moussa, secretary General of the Arab League, " You have heard of the proposed numbers (cabinet members) and this is agreed and will just have to negotiate guarantees"

8. Cutaway reporters

9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amr Moussa, secretary General of the Arab League, "We want to reach a formula of no victor, no vanquished ... A win-win situation."

10. End of presser

STORYLINE

The Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Thursday the Lebanese government and opposition have agreed on a national unity Cabinet, in a major step toward defusing political and sectarian tensions, but added that more work was still needed to seal a deal.

Wrapping up two days of mediation talks with rival Lebanese factions, Moussa told a news conference that he might have to return to Beirut in the next few days to continue his discussions with government and opposition leaders to reach an agreement on a package.

He said the parties had agreed on a Cabinet of national unity, which would include opposition minority and majority members, but they wanted to discuss "guarantees" to make it work.

The formula agreed would give the anti-Syrian coalition less than two-thirds majority of the Cabinet and it would leave the opposition short of their demand for a veto-wielding one third plus one.

A neutral Cabinet minister would hold the balance.

"We want to reach a formula of no victor, no vanquished ... A win-win situation," Moussa said.

Moussa referred to an earlier formula for a new 30-member Cabinet, whereby Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his allies would hold 19 seats, Hezbollah and its allies in the opposition would hold 10 seats and a neutral minister being the balancing factor.

That formula would deprive Saniora and his anti-Syrian allies from taking decisions by a two-third majority while Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies would lack the 11 seats needed to veto decisions or to even bring down the government through mass resignations. That formula would force both sides to reach consensus on key decisions.

A unity government has been a major demand of the Hezbollah-led opposition, which has been waging a campaign of sit-ins and street protests in Beirut for two weeks.

It had threatened to work to oust Saniora's Western-backed government if the minimum demand of full participation in the Cabinet was not met.

Saniora's allies have demanded that the fate of President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian, be on the table, and want a new president elected before Lahoud's term ends in November.

Another point of dispute is over an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, with the government approving it but the opposition balking at endorsing the draft before the government crisis is solved.

Moussa said a committee comprising delegates from the government and the opposition would be formed to discuss opposition reservations over the framework of the Hariri tribunal.

The Arab League chief called on parties to defuse the tensions and expressed hope to work out some of the issues in the next two weeks.

The opposition has said it will not pull out the thousands of supporters who have been camping out in tents in downtown Beirut near the prime minister's office before their demands are met.

The western-backed prime minister has refused opposition demands to quit and has been working from his office behind a cordon of barbed wire and hundreds of combat troops and armed police.